When Two Worlds Meet
by fand0m-phaser
Summary: Katniss Everdeen, the track athlete, and Peeta Mellark the flirt meet at a university party, only to end up as unexpected roommates within the same 24 hours. She comes from a broken past, but so does he. Can the two manage to find healing in each other while dealing with this roller coaster of emotions? University AU-Rated M for future chaps.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! It has been a hot minute since I've written on here, and it feels great to get back into the swing of things. So on the bus the other day I got a spur of inspiration for this story and I decided to just run with the idea. To be honest, I'm absolutely elated for what this story has in store for you guys; lots of twists and turns (possibly :)). I hope to be able to keep up with this and post a chapter at least once a week, but I do have exams coming up in two weeks and I will heavily be studying for that, so just a heads up.**

**Anyway, to cut to the chase, I hope you guys like reading this as much as I loved writing it, so enjoy! All constructive criticism is welcome, and R&R is appreciated :)**

**P.S - You know the drill; I own nothing at all; no rights, no characters, etc. There, done, end of story, fini! If I did, I most certainly would not be sitting behind this computer writing this fanfiction. **

_*Italic font indicates either flashbacks / previous memories*_

_xXx_

Beep... beep... beep... beep...

A scream came from the room down the white empty hallway.

"Katniss? Katniss... KATNISS!" someone called out. Johanna Mason ran down the hallway of her apartment to her spare bedroom, which was currently being inhabited by Katniss Everdeen. She whipped open the door in a panicked state, only to find her temporary roommate lying on a small air mattress groaning into a pillow, aimlessly moving her hand around trying to find the blaring alarm clock. Johanna ripped off the sheets on Katniss before she could fall back asleep.

"Hey, brainless, when you're done being dramatic, we have stuff to do you know. Oh, but not that it's a key part of our life or anything. Only like university, that's all, nothing super important," Jo said icily. Katniss rolled over onto her back, glaring at Johanna. If looks could kill, Katniss's best friend would be dead.

"Fine, but don't expect me to come quietly," Katniss growled while rolling lazily off the air mattress. Jo rolled her eyes and walked back out the door and into the hallway.

"By the way! I have chosen that you are being evicted! If you don't find an apartment by tonight, I'm throwing you and your shit out the window!" Johanna yelled back at Katniss, who just walked into the kitchen. She had dark circles under her eyes, disheveled hair with a scowl plastered on her face.

"Fine," she said.

"Fine," Jo replied, mimicking her tone. "We can ask around to see if anyone is looking for a roommate, and if that doesn't work, we'll go apartment hunting."

"That is the last thing I want to do today," Kat grumbled.

"Then hurry up and get some proper clothes on, we have class in 40 minutes, and if we get there early, we can ask around about how to solve your issue of homelessness," Jo snorts.

"Whatever," she snapped back, trudging down the carpeted hall.

xXx

"Katniss!" a girl called loudly. Madge Undersee had spotted me walking across the field of Panem University to my morning class when she began to jog over. Her blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and slim body attracted many guys, which, naturally, created a mixed company and more often than not, horny males. Now, of course, Madge has always been rather reserved and quiet, being the mayor's daughter, but she tends to loosen up around Jo and me.

"Hey Madgie, what's up?" I say laughing while watching her try to catch her breath. She obviously isn't a runner.

"Well, not much, but I heard you're looking for a place after.. you know.." she trails off. A few months ago, I was living with my ex-boyfriend, Cato, who was abusive and hurt me both mentally and physically. It was not unusual for me to show up to my classes with bruises and other marks littering my body. My friends often made comments about it, but I tended to skirt around the questions. It wasn't until 3 months ago that I packed my bags and left at 2 in the morning. I was previously living in Chicago with him until I moved out to New York to attend Panem University. When I had nowhere to go after leaving Cato's, I called Johanna, my old high school friend, who willingly let me stay at her apartment until I could get back on my feet.

_"Hey, I'm home," I called out, setting my bags down on the floor, slipping off my shoes. I walk into the apartment further and peek my head into our room. I see Cato laying on our bed, his face red with anger. My body automatically tenses. This is not an unfamiliar situation; me getting home late, Cato lashing out. I know that this would be a good time to leave, so I call out to him as I quietly slip on my shoes. _

_"Hey, Cato, I'm going out with a few friends tonight, I'll see you later okay?" I say gently. _

_"Like hell you are," he says roughly, storming out of the room. I brace myself for the blow, but instead, he stops directly in front of me. Poised anger; very unusual for him, which scares me even more. "Where have you been?" he asks me none too gently. _

_"I was studying in the library..." I reply tentatively. _

_"Why didn't you study here?" _

_"I- I don't know," _

_"Fine. Okay." he finally says after a pause. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in. Just as I do, he turns around and slaps me. White-hot heat races across my cheek, but I don't dare let a tear slip out. _

_"Don't. Ever. Be late again." he says in a dangerously low voice. I nod silently. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other," he says. I turn to leave, but he grabs my wrist, and I immediately know it'll be bruised tomorrow. _

_"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?" he yells at me. _

_"Cato, the neighbours.. they could hear," I say almost inaudibly, tears pooling in my eyes._

_"I don't give a shit!" he spits. "I've been putting up with your bullshit for long enough, and I'm done with it!" he says, aggressively shoving me against the wall. My back hits an exposed nailhead, and I wince but instantly regret it. "Oh, so you're strong enough to not need my help, but you can't take a shove?" he says, and then my vision starts to spot. He grabs me by the shoulders, but not before his fist catches my jaw and throws me on the ground. I shield my face before his fist can connect with it. _

_"I don't want to see your face for the rest of the night," he growls and slams the door on his way back to the room. I lay on the floor shaking, willing myself not to cry out in pain. _

That was the night I left.

"Katniss...?" Madge says gently, shaking me out of my daze.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm here. What were you saying?" I ask her while she still carries a concerned look on her face. It quickly vanishes after she sees me looking at her.

"Right!" she smiles mischievously, "Gale told me that someone from one of his classes is looking for a roommate. He told me to give you their email so you could talk about details and all that," she says, waving her hand around airily after handing me a slip of paper. I let out a laugh and thank her before I run to class before I'm late.

Once I got back to Johanna's apartment, I open my laptop and key in the email; p . mellark 33 gmail . com and I begin to type.

**Hello, **

**I'm emailing you in regard to your apartment availability. I would like to express my interest **

**and would like to know a few details regarding rent, location, and proximity to PU. I am a clean, organized person, and I typically keep to myself, so I won't be in your way. **

**Thank you for your consideration.**

I read over my short email. Sweet and quick to the point. No BS or fluff. I was never good with words, so I decided to send off the email and wait for a response. Within two minutes I get a reply.

**Hi,**

**Thank you for your email. There are currently no other applicants, so you can move in at your leisure, t****he latest being three days from now. As for rent, it will be 300 per month. The apartment is 5 minutes away from PU, and it is located at 623 W 41st Street. **

**Thank you for your inquiry,**

** I hope to see you soon.**

I get excited as I read their response and fire off a quick email, letting them know that I will be there tomorrow at 9 am since it is a Saturday. I close my computer with a smile, excited to be able to go and be independent to some degree without having to rely on Jo. I start to fold my clothes, leaving out only a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie for tomorrow. I start to put away my meagre possessions into a few cardboard boxes as Johanna comes into the apartment and bounds into my room.

"You up for a party?" she says excitedly. I groan, looking down at my sweatpants and hoodie. Jo laughs and pulls me up, but stopping halfway realizing the boxes that are littering the room. "You're moving out?!" she asks me.

"Yeah... I'm sorry... Gale's classmate was looking for a roommate and I emailed them. I'm moving in tomorrow," I tell her, afraid that she'll be mad. She pulls me up off the floor and hugs me. I tense up, but accept it after a few seconds.

"No, don't be sorry, that's so great! This calls for a celebration!" she exclaims, and drags me to her room. "Speaking of Gale, his hot friend is throwing the first party of the semester, and we are going, I don't care what you say. You don't get out enough and you know it," she says with an air of finality and I know that no matter how much I protest she won't relent, so I keep my mouth shut.

"But I already packed all my clothes away," I tell her. She grins mischievously at me, which makes me nervous. "What?" I snap with no venom behind my word.

"I have the perfect dress for you," she says while pulling me into her closet. She rummages around for a few seconds before emerging out of her mess of clothes. "This! This is perfect," she tells me, clearly proud of her choice. I look at the red crimson-coloured dress. I reluctantly take it and change into it in the bathroom. Once I pull the dress over my body, it fits like a glove, hugging each curve. Despite my slim body, there is a slight bend in my waist, which bends out to the curve of my hips. I'm not exactly curvy, but I'm also not shaped like a door. I hold most of my weight in my thighs, hips, and butt, although there isn't much to carry since I weigh in at 125 pounds at the age of 19. I am what would be referred to as a 'pear shape'. I turn in around in the dress, which only goes down to mid-thigh, even if I tug it down. The dress is strapless and has a thin layer of lace over the bottom layer of the material. I frown at myself in the mirror, realizing that if I bend over, it is likely that my ass would make an appearance. I sigh in exasperation.

"Johanna Mason, what the hell is this!" I yell from the bathroom and hear her laugh.

"Lemme see it!" she shouts back. I turn the doorknob and walk out to find her gawking at me.

"Katniss!" she says a little startled, "I think I'm gonna have competition for the boys tonight," she says and waggles her eyebrows while I roll my eyes. "Seriously, you look stunning already and I haven't even done anything yet! You've clearly been holding back in your baggy sweatpants and hoodies," Jo says.

"Now, for a bit of fine-tuning."

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"Don't get so wound up brainless, it's nothing dramatic," she assures me. "I'm just gonna take your hair out of your braid, brush it, and maybe add a bit of mascara." I open my mouth to refuse but decide against it.

"Fine,"

"Great!" she says excitedly while taking my hand and guiding me to the bathroom. After 15 minutes, I have to admit that I do look considerably better. My naturally dark wavy hair flows down my back, ending a little above my waist, and my already long eyelashes are "plump" as Jo called them, and they compliment my grey silvery eyes due to the intensity of the black mascara.

"Now, I'm going to go and find you a pair of black heels, and by the time I come back, you better be waiting for me by the door," she warns and I laugh.

"Alright, consider it done," I tell her before going to grab a small purse and my phone. I check the time and see it's already 9 pm and realize I'm starving. "Jo, hurry up! I'm hungry and I want to end this pain as soon as possible!" I yell. Right as the last word leaves my mouth, she comes out of her room looking like a million bucks.

"You look great," I reassure her as she twirls around in a scandalously revealing teal dress, and I grab her hand while pulling her out of the apartment. As soon as we start the engine of her car, we're already zooming out of the parking lot and down the highway. Within minutes we pull into an already overcrowded driveway. The house is basically shaking with the number of people in it and music that is so loud you could practically hear from the end of the street. As I exit the car, Jo is already by my side and dragging me up the driveway then stairs, and entering the rowdy crowd of university students.

"Great, isn't it?" she shouts at me over the loud music. I nod, despite being able to feel my whole body vibrating from the bass coming from the speakers. I look around through the mass of people, hoping to find a table of food when I see someone leaving from the left side of the room with a slice of pizza. I backtrack his path and find all sorts of food, and happily help myself to a slice. I walk over to a table filled with drinks, which by the smell of them, are very alcoholic. I shrug and pour myself a drink of punch, and take a sip, feeling the cold liquid going down my throat, but burning in my chest like flames. As I go to turn around, I bump into someone's chest, and my drink spills all over their shirt.

"Oh my gods I'm so sorry, I-" I begin to say, stumbling over my words until I look up at the punch victims face.

"Woah," I breathe out. Two startlingly piercing blue eyes gaze back at my steely grey ones, and mine roam over his face. He has a straight, nice nose, with full, soft-looking lips and absolutely flawless skin. He has curly golden blonde hair that catches the lights of the party. Despite all of his amazing features, I can't seem to look away from his eyes. They're azure blue with small flecks of lighter patches of blue around the center of his iris. His blonde eyelashes are definitely longer than mine, which makes me wonder how they don't get tangled together when he blinks. My eyes then wander down his face, and I notice his sharp jawline, but as my eyes travel down, the view gets better and better. His upper body is well toned and defined, with a layer of muscle basically everywhere. You can see his toned abs through his black shirt, which makes me shiver a little just at the view of them. He's wearing dark blue jeans, which fits him well.

"Uh, hi," he finally says, laughing at my comment. He smiles. Oh, gods. His smile. He has brilliantly white and straight teeth. Even though I just got punch all down his front and he could easily take a swing at me for it, he instead smiles down at me.

"Hey," I reply breathlessly, although I'm not sure why. "I am so sorry for spilling that on you, I can buy you a new shirt, I promise-" I begin, but he cuts me off with his laugh. It rings clearly through the crowd and holds a beautiful note of joy.

"It's okay, it's fine, really," he says smiling. "I like your dress," he says looking down at me. I turn red and he automatically notices this. "Wait, no, th-that's not what I meant, I'm so sorry," he stutters, but it's my turn to laugh.

"It's okay, I get what you mean," I say, having to shout over the loud music. The redness in his cheeks leave and he seems to loosen up.

"Wanna dance?" he asks after a second or two. I tense you a little, which he seems to notice. "Or you don't have to," he says seeming a little embarrassed. I look around and suddenly notice the swarm of girls that's formed around us. They're all ogling at him with a dreamy look in their eyes.

"Uh, I think there's already a line waiting for you," I say to him, pointing to the group of girls batting their eyelashes in his direction. He looks around but doesn't seem to care, and shrugs. Is this a normal thing? Are people as visually interested in him as I am? They must be.

"Well I asked you, not them," he tells me non-nonchalantly.

"Okay, sure I guess," he envelopes my cold hand into his warm one gently and gives me a reassuring smile. The house is dark, with the exception of coloured strobe lights. We move into a huge yet crowded living room where everyone is dancing. To be honest, I really don't know how to dance, and quite frankly, I have little to no time for it. I'm trying to find a way out of it when I come up with an excuse. Between the loud music and people singing and shouting, I find myself having to raise my voice considerably.

"I don't even know you're name, or if you even go to PU!" I shout at him. He smiles and laughs... I think... I'm not completely sure since I can't really hear him.

"I'm Peeta!" he shouts back. "And yes, of course I go to PU! Why do you think I would be at this party?"

"Well, I don't know, some people will do anything just to get a little wasted on a Friday night," I tell him, and he nods.

"What about you? What's your name?" he asks me.

"Katniss,"

"Katniss," he says as if he is mulling over the word, and to be quite honest, I love how he says it. "That's a really pretty name. Unique, but pretty," I blush and thank him. Just as he opens his mouth to say something, Johanna comes over, clearly very drunk and very horny.

"Hey love, how you doin'? I just met this SUPER hot guy, very manly, super nice muscles, the whole works. Unlikely I will be coming home tonight," she pauses and winks, "so you can take the car back to the apartment..." she begins to tell me, but then sees Peeta. She looks him up and down, and visibly stops to gaze at his mid-section for a few seconds longer than necessary.

"What's cooking good lookin?" Johanna says flirtatiously.

"Johanna!" I hiss. Despite her very forward comment, I can't disagree with her. Peeta is certainly one of the best looking boys I've ever seen.

"See you later," she says winking at him and struts off.

"I'm so sorry about her, she's just naturally like that, and the alcohol doesn't help of course-" I ramble.

"It's fine," he says laughing. "Well, I gotta go and find out if my ride is blackout drunk or not, so I'll be back in a few minutes?" he askes me, wondering if I'll stick around.

"Uh, yeah, sure," I say, although I am quite the opposite of sure at the moment. He leaves and weaves his way through the crowd expertly, barely touching anyone despite the crowded room. The fact that he is at so much ease here makes me wonder how often he is at parties, or if he's just naturally an expert at life or whatever. After 10 minutes of waiting and 4 slices of pizza, I decide that he probably went to hook up with one of the girls that were hanging around us earlier. I don't know why, but I get a little mad, despite the fact that he really had no obligation to come back and doesn't even know me. I start to look around for the exit and find the doorway, uttering many 'excuse me's' and 'sorry's'. I take Johanna's keys out of my purse and unlock the car, starting the engine. After a few minutes of driving, I park the car and make my way up to her apartment and unlock the door.

15 minutes later, I'm back in my sweatpants and hoodie, ready to curl up on the couch as I braid my hair back. I grab a bag of chips and wrap a blanket around me while flicking on the TV. Before I know it, I'm fast asleep.

**The next morning...**

I wake up to an awful wretching noise coming from the bathroom. I pull myself up from the couch and my muscles groan from the stiffness. I take a moment to stretch out then make my way off the couch. While walking over to the bathroom to see the noise, I find a trail of clothes littering the floor. I open the door and find Johanna, stark naked, leaning over the toilet. The smell of vomit and alcohol meets my nose and I almost upchuck myself. Before I let myself think twice, I go over to Jo and hold her hair back as he disposes of the liquor in her system into the porcelain bowl. After 5 minutes of this, she leans back on the wall and her skin is drained of colour.

"Overdid it on the vodka again, didn't you?" I say. She nods, then speaks up.

"Why are you still here?" she asks me, and I give her a puzzled look. She rolls her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be over at your new roommate's apartment by 9?"

"Oh my gods, I totally forgot, shit, ugh," I say, angry at myself for forgetting. "Well, I have a bit of time," I say to no one in particular, but Johanna laughs.

"It's 10:30 brainless," she says, and my eyes almost bulge out of my head. I haven't packed anything with the exception of my clothes! Without saying another word to Johanna, I sprint down the hall to the spare room where my things are, and throw them in boxes, not particularly caring about the organization at the moment. Within 2 minutes, I have everything packed and at the door when Johanna appears behind me. I give her a hug and thank her for everything.

"So what's their name?" she asks.

"Uhh, to be honest, I don't know," I tell her. "I never actually got their first name, only their last. Well, I assume it's their last name; their email said p . mellark . I guess I'll know soon though" I shrug and she nods.

"Well, the least I can do is drive you there," she says, picking up two boxes and grabbing the keys. I give her a grateful smile and pick up the other three boxes; one under my left arm and two under my right. It's a struggle, but once we get in the car and have the boxes packed away in the trunk, it's rather smooth sailing from there. I pull up the address on my phone and give Jo directions. Within 10 minutes, we pull into the parking lot and get out of the car. The apartment building overlooks the Hudson River and the state line where New Jersey begins; it's honestly a beautiful view. I thank Johanna again and take my boxes under my arms and I walk into the building. As I'm taking the elevator, I realize how embarrassing it is that I don't even know my roommate's name, so I grasp onto the only information I have; P. Mellark... P. Mellark. I get out of the elevator on the 8th floor and approach the right room number they gave me; 54. I place my boxes on the ground and take a deep breath before knocking. I rap on the door and wait a few seconds before I hear footfalls approaching. The door swings open to reveal a golden blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy. I gasp in recognition. It all makes sense now; P. Mellark.

The boy standing before me is none other than Peeta Mellark.


	2. Chapter 2

**AHHH! Thank you guys so much for the follows, favourites and reviews! They really do mean a lot and certainly encourage me to write more for everyone. I hope you guys will like this chapter as much as the last one, although there isn't much action going on in this one; it's more just laying out or setting up the scene if you will. If you guys want a better visual for the apartment or the rooms, I've drawn a few sketches for both the rooms and the apartment itself; if you're interested in looking at those, I'll throw them up on Deviant Art (if you guys know what that is). My username is the same (fand0m-phaser) so go check them out if you'd like. **

**I'd like to also inform you all that I have exams this week and the next so it's unlikely that I'll be writing much due to the need to study and all that snazziness so just a heads up.**

**Anyway, no more talking; I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. **

"You?" I ask in a shocked tone.

"You," he responds, sounding just as surprised. When he answered the door only to see me, his jaw dropped at the sight of the girl who split punch on him within the same 24 hours. Now he stands in front of me, wearing grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt, his curly golden hair slightly dishevelled.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Uhh, this is my apartment," he says and laughs.

"Don't you mean like your girlfriend's apartment or something?"

"No, it's mine," he says, clearly starting to get annoyed. As he says this, I begin to put two and two together, and it's now my turn for my jaw to drop.

"Y-you're kidding right?" I ask in disbelief. "You're telling me that the guy I spilled punch on last night just _happens_ to be you?" I laugh a little in hysteria and embarrassment.

"Well yes, it appears to be that way," he responds, returning a short embarrassed laugh. "Do you, uh, want to come in?" Peeta asks me.

"Well, I mean yeah, I am renting half of this apartment from you aren't I?" he nods and opens the door, motioning me in. I go to pick up my 5 boxes at the same time as he does and we hit heads.

"Ow," we groan in unison. "This really isn't starting off on the right foot, is it?" I say while rubbing my head.

"No, it really isn't," he laughs nervously. Peeta tentatively goes down for the three boxes and picks them up with ease. Those were the heaviest boxes I had, and he picked them up as if they were feathers. I grin at the floor a little. Wait, what the hell? I just met this guy last night... I want to slap myself for even smiling, but that wouldn't exactly help my case right now; I already look pretty stupid as it is.

I enter his apartment and let out an audible gasp. I didn't know what I was anticipating, but it's way above my expectations. On the far wall, there's glass from the floor to ceiling, overlooking the Hudson River. I look around his modern looking kitchen, which is relatively small, but completely organized and clean with not a dirty dish on any surface. As I look into the living room that connects with the kitchen in an open concept layout, there's a medium-sized, dark grey coloured couch that has two matching chairs opposite to it on the other wall. Laying under these chairs is a large shag carpet rug. There's a coffee table standing on the left side of the couch and one in between the two small chairs. The floor is dark hardwood throughout the whole apartment as far as I am aware. On the left wall, adjacent to the floor to ceiling window and above the couch, is a collage of multiple small to medium-sized canvases of one picture; a hand-painted sunset over the ocean. It's absolutely gorgeous with all the oranges, yellows, reds and other pretty hues. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the most modern but cozy apartments I've ever been in.

"Woah. This is so nice. Like, much nicer than any apartment I have ever lived in, or ever will for that matter," I tell him.

"Well actually, this is the apartment you're going to be living in, so you can scratch that last part. Come on, I'll show you your room," he says and leads me into a hallway. "There are two bedrooms, and you'll be in the one on the left; I'm on the right directly across from you, so if you ever need anything, just knock. There's only one bathroom, but there's a lock on the door and also one on both of the bedroom doors, so there shouldn't be any problem concerning a lack of privacy," he reassures me. Right before the hall ends, we turn to the left and he opens a door, revealing my new room. The walls of the room are light grey, matching the rest of the apartment, but the floor is carpeted. There's a bed facing the wall that's parallel to the doorway which facing a large window that's almost the same size as the one in the living room, also overlooking the Hudson River. The natural lighting brightens the room up considerably, which is rather nice. The only furnishings in the room beside a box spring and a matress are a bookshelf, a desk and chair, a closet, a dresser, and a nightstand. This, of course, isn't a problem since I brought my own possessions to fill the space. Even despite the sparseness of the room, it's modern and quaint, along with the rest of the house.

"Well, the bathroom is at the end of the hall, and this is my room here. Other than that, that's it," he says motioning to the door opposite to mine.

"Okay, cool... thank you, by the way," I say, my voice going quieter near the end of my sentence.

"For what?" he asks me with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well, for letting me rent out the apartment with you," I say as if it was obvious.

"You're welcome then," he replies. For a few seconds, there's an awkward silence.

"I promise I'll just stay out of your way, I normally keep to myself anyway; I'll either be at school or in my room so I won't be bothering you and-" I blurt but he cuts me off.

"It's okay, really; you don't have to do that. If I didn't want a roommate I would've just came up with the money myself," he explains, which, of course, makes sense.

"Yeah, about that by the way..." I begin, laughing awkwardly. "You were probably expecting a guy, weren't you?"

"Well I mean yeah, I was... but I don't have a problem with having a girl as my roommate," he adds quickly. "To be fair, you probably expected a girl... the lack of pronouns left me wondering a little, but I didn't want to press or anything, just in case you know,"

"Same here," I say, relieved that I wasn't the only one.

"It's Katniss, right?" he asks me cautiously.

"Yes, Katniss; Katniss Everdeen... and you're Peeta Mellark," I recall. He nods and grins a little, which makes my stomach flutter, but I force myself to push the feeling down.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to it Katniss Everdeen," he says gesturing to my room.

"Right, yeah, thanks,"

xXx

After our rather awkward conversation, I grabbed my boxes and went to my room to unpack. Closing my door behind me, I open my first box which consists of half of the clothes I own. I look around the room before I begin to empty my boxes.

Right when you walk into the room you're greeted by a window that's almost as big as the one in the living room; as I walk farther into the room, I see a sliding door that has a pocket in the wall. When I slide it into the wall, it reveals a closet with a dark wooden dresser. Other than the dresser and a few hangers, the closet is empty. On the same wall the door is on, the side of a box spring and a matress is pressed against it with no headboard. There's a small nightstand beside the bed that matches the rest of the furniture in the room. A foot or two away from the nightstand is a medium-size desk with a chair and a floating shelf above the desk. I sit down in the white swivel chair in front of the desk and can easily envision myself using it frequently to study. I get up from the chair and then plop myself onto the bed, which is a little stiff, but relatively comfortable. It's pretty high off the ground considering the box spring is directly on the floor with nothing separating the two.

I lay down and observe a bookshelf on the wall adjacent to the door; it's made of black metal and the shelves are composed of glass. As I'm laying there in silence, I find myself smiling at nothing in particular, but thoroughly enjoying the idea of living here. I shimmy off the foot of the bed and find myself looking at a reflection of me in a full-length mirror mounted to the wall that is right next to the door. After my brief room tour that I gave myself, I make my way back to the center of the room where the rest of my boxes are. I take the contents out and begin to organize my shirts, pants, and other clothes into the 6 drawers in the dresser that is in the closet; undergarments and socks in the top first two, hoodies and shirts in the middle two, and pants and shorts in the bottom slots. Once I am satisfied with my organizing, I start taking out all my belonging to put on my desk. I smile when I look at the two candles, a small plant and other organizers or little places to put pens, pencils or papers in. When I first moved into Jo's apartment with hardly anything to call my own, she took me out shopping to find things for my room. Since her family is well off, she was insistent on paying for everything, which I was not thrilled about, but accepted in the end. I found out she has very good taste, specifically for aesthetic things, and somehow perfectly amalgamated her sense of style with my love for outdoors, the colour green and modernness. Overall, I was quite pleased with our haul and found myself not wanting to leave my room since I liked it so much.

Setting up everything on the desk and floating shelf in an organized fashion, I move onto the bed and take out my dark green duvet and white t-shirt material sheets and pillow covers. I neatly tuck in the corners of everything and slip on two cases for my pillows when I hear a knock. I walk over, unlock the door and open it to find Peeta standing outside my room.

"Uh, hi," he says as his eyes flick around my room. "Woah. I really like what you've done," he tells me and I turn a little red.

"Thanks,"

"No problem," he responds and pauses before continuing. "I'm going out to get some groceries and stuff and I was wondering if you needed anything picked up," he asks, his eyes now looking into mine.

"Umm, no, I think I'm good actually, but thanks anyway," I say and he nods and smiles a little before walking back down the hall. _Wow... that, was really thoughtful,_ I think to myself as I turn and shut my door. Walking back to my 3/5 empty boxes, I unpack the second last one, containing my track things. Ever since freshman year of high school I've been on the track and field team at my old school, Panem High. I was more on par with the track part, doing both short and long-distance, but specifically excelling in the 100m sprint and the relay team. I was easily one of the best sprinters out of almost every girl in the state, making it to county, provincials, and nationals for 4 years straight, coming in 1st or 2nd on a consistent basis. I take out my ribbons, medals and two trophies from the box and place one of the trophies on the shelf above my desk, setting the other on my dresser in my closet. I also place the 9 gold, purple and white ribbons in a line in my closet, so when you open the doors, you're presented with basically the only thing that I'm proud of in my life. I frown a little at the thought. I then go over to my mirror and place my 12 medals on either side of the top corners so they dangle off the sides. In the middle of my room, I pick up my track bag and take out my shoes that I hastily stuffed in it this morning. I take out my 2 pairs of vans; black and white high tops and my sk8's. I throw my shoes behind my door and put the rest of my track things into my closet. I glance at my alarm clock that I had already set on my nightstand along with my lamp and check the time; 2:13. It's been nearly 4 hours since I've started unpacking, and I hear my stomach growl. I open my door and find myself walking to the kitchen, but suddenly stop in my tracks._ What the hell Katniss? You can't just take his food, you literally haven't paid for anything,_ I tell myself, and whip out my phone, dialling Johanna's number. After the phone rings twice, she picks up.

"Hey shithead, what's up?" she says answering the phone and I laugh.

"Oh my gods Jo," I say rolling my eyes even though I know she can't see me. "Wanna go get some lunch?" I ask.

"Hell yeah, I'll be there in 5,"

"Ok, great," I respond and we hang up. I slip on my shoes and grab a hoodie from my dresser and remind myself to hang them up in the closet instead of folding them when I get home.

xXx

I see Jo's car in the parking lot and make my way downstairs, pulling open the glass doors to the apartment building and hopping into her car and smile at her.

"It's been, what, four hours, and you're already looking to get out of there?" she asks as she drives out of the parking lot and turns onto the road. "Is it really that trashy?"

I laugh and shake my head. "No, actually, it's a hella nice apartment, like, take yours and times it by 5," I tell her, and her jaw drops.

"Well, now I wanna see it,"

"Soon," I promise her. After a minute or two of silence, we pull into the parking lot of Greasy Sae's Diner. Once we're inside, I order a milkshake and fries, while Johanna gets a hamburger and coke. We're both clearly hungry so we begin to eat without a word until a few minutes into our food.

"So," Jo starts, "what's her name?"

"Well, it's a he actually..." I tell her, already knowing what's coming. A wide smile breaks out onto her face.

"Katniss! your roommate is a male, and you didn't even tell me?!"

"Well I didn't know either until this morning," I explain and she scoffs.

"Okay, well then what is _his_ name," she corrects herself.

"Peeta Mellark," I say. As soon as the words have left my lips, her eyes bug out of her head and some of the coke she was sipping on comes out of her nose.

"PEETA MELLARK?!" she basically shouts, and I'm sure I turn a brilliant shade of red as multiple heads turn in our direction.

"Jo! We are in a public place!" I hiss at her. "You can't just yell!"

"Katniss! I don't think you understand. Peeta Mellark is like the biggest player to ever walk the face of the earth, like I'm sure he's slept with almost every girl at PU," she explains and my jaw drops.

"What?" I say in disbelief and she nods her head. "But he seemed so sweet this morning!"

"Yeah, well, he put on a good show so I'm told. He's also the quarterback for the school varsity football team and apparently he's basically their best player," she says, "and despite his rep, you can't deny that he's one of the prettiest things you've ever seen, like damn," I roll my eyes as she gushes. "Like really Katniss, you have no idea the number of girls that would kill to be in your position right now to hold the title of 'roommate of the sex god, Peeta Mellark'"

"Johanna!" I hiss, but she simply laughs.

"Ah, Katniss, you're so pure,"

"Whatever. I'm sure he's not that bad," but she shakes her head.

"I promise you, he is. Just wait a day or two and he'll have a girl screaming his name at 2 am while you're trying to sleep," she says and I make a face of disgust. "But seriously, don't you think he's hot?" she asks.

"I mean, yeah, I guess, I don't know," I mumble.

'You're lying. Of course you think he is. Haven't you ever seen him around campus or anywhere before at all?"

"Yes actually, last night," I tell her.

"Wait, what? When?" she asks, clearly shocked.

"Jo. You were literally there. You flirted with him, specifically saying, 'what's cookin' good lookin'"

Johanna face palms and groans. "Oh my gods, that was him?" I nod in response. "I was completely wasted Katniss, how could I have known it was him, let alone remember the encounter?" she grumbles.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get over it at some point, but in the meantime, I gotta finish unpacking," I tell her while walking over to the garbage can to throw out my things. She mumbles about getting out of something but I brush it off as we get into her car and drive back to my apartment. I thank her as I get out of the car and she yells at me from out of her window while I'm walking to the front doors that I should beware of STD's and I laugh. When I reach the 8th floor and walk to apartment 54, I hope that the door is unlocked since I don't have a key yet. I turn the doorknob to find it not locked. I take off my shoes and look in the kitchen then the living room, finding it empty. I walk down the hallway and find my room as I left it.

"Peeta?" I call out. No answer. Despite him leaving at 2, he clearly isn't back yet. I enter my room and finish unpacking. I take the empty cardboard boxes and break them down and shove them in my closet. I take my phone out of my pocket and fall onto the bed and dial my sister's number. Primrose, my younger sister, is in her junior year of high school and wants to be a doctor. Despite her only being 17, she is much wiser than probably any kids her age. She's way beyond her years really, and I always go to her when I need anything. After the 3rd ring, she picks up.

"Katniss?"

"Hey little duck," I say smiling.

"Hey! How are you? Madge texted me and said you got a new roommate! Are you in the new apartment yet?" she asks excitedly and I laugh.

"Okay, one thing at a time," I tell her. "Firstly, I'm doing pretty well, and yes, I did get a new roommate and yes, I am in the new apartment and I'm laying on my bed as we speak."

"That's so cool," she says. "I wish I could come visit you,"

"Me too," I say a little sadly. "Hey, what about this; I can ask my roommate if you can come over this weekend and visit. I can see if he's okay with it, alright?" I tell her. From the other end of the phone she giggles. "What?" I ask her.

"Your roommate is a guy?" she continues to giggle.

"Yes Prim, my roommate is a guy," I say exasperatedly.

"Sooo, whats his name? Is he cute, nice, funny, a jerk?"

"His name is Peeta Mellark," I say as Prim gasps.

"Peeta Mellark? His brother is in a few of my classes! His name is Rye. Ugh, he's so cute," she says dreamily. "Is his brother the same? He must be,"

"Prim!" I say laughing. "Has my little duck caught feelings?"

"No! Well... maybe, I don't know!" she tells me and I laugh. Even as I'm talking to her I can feel my worries and problems leaving my conscience.

"Well, if you're planning on going out with him, he better treat you like a princess or I'll come over there and punch him into next week,"

"Katniss!" Prim says indignantly but ends up giggling. "You're still avoiding my question; is he cute? and be honest," I sigh, knowing I'll never be able to get out of it.

"Yes Primrose, he is cute. Are you happy?" I ask.

"Yes, yes I am. I can't wait to meet him," she says and I can almost hear her smirking through the phone.

"Ugh, you're such a romantic," I say laughing. "Well I gotta go and study for ecology, but I'll text you later though okay?" I tell her. We exchange goodbyes and hang up the phone.

After getting up out of bed and walking over to my door, I open it and go to walk out of my room, only to find the one and only peeta Mellark standing by my doorway. _Oh shit_ is all I can think. As I look up to he him, a smirk is plastered on his face.

"So you think I'm cute, huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Quick note: I made sure that this chapter was extra long so you guys can fill your time while waiting for chapter 4 since I'm studying for exams. I absolutely loved writing this chapter so enjoy!**

"So you think I'm cute, huh?" asks a smirking Peeta Mellark. I feel my face heat up in embarrassment.

"I-" I begin to explain, but instead get defensive. "Why were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping, I was coming to tell you that I had supper ready, but then I heard my name pop up and decided to investigate," he explains casually.

"So you were eavesdropping," I retort lamely.

"Investigating and eavesdropping are two very different things, Katniss Everdeen," he says smiling down at me. "Plus, if I hear my name in a conversation, I have the right to know what people are saying about me, especially in my apartment,"

"We share this apartment,"

"Not until you've given me your first payment," he says raising a finger.

"What- fine, whatever," I grumble, whipping my phone out of my pocket. "I'll pay you right here and now. What's your email for ?" I ask him. He raises his eyebrows but takes out his phone while grinning and gives me his email for it. I take 300 dollars out of my bank account and transfer the money to him with a scowl on my face. "There, now we share this apartment,"

"Works for me" he shrugs. "Doesn't change the fact that supper is ready,"

"Fine, I'll be there in a second," and he walks back down the hall. I take my phone out again and send Prim a text.

**Katniss: So update on my roommate; he heard me admit he was cute, so I think now would be a great time to die.**

**Prim: HAHAHA that's so funny lol. Well, have fun with that conversation ;)**

**Katniss: I hate you.**

**Prim: Love you too big sis **

I roll my eyes at her text message but grin anyway and throw my phone onto my bed, walking out of my room, down the hall and into the kitchen. The smell of garlic and other spices waft through the air. On the countertop, I see two plates filled with fettuccini alfredo and my mouth starts to water.

"Did you buy this or make it?" I ask, very doubtful that he can cook, let alone something that looks this good.

"I cooked it," he says and grins, clearly satisfied with himself when he sees me staring at him in disbelief. "My family owns a bakery so naturally I grew up learning how to cook and bake,"

"That's actually pretty cool," I say as I sit down on a high stool that's by the breakfast bar. He pushes the plate towards me and hands me a fork. I take it but hesitate before trying it.

"Go ahead," he says laughing at me. I twirl the thick pasta onto my fork and put it in my mouth. A burst of salty, warm goodness explodes in my mouth and I try not to moan.

"Oh my gods, this is one of the best things I've ever tasted," I say through a mouthful of food. He takes a bow and sits down next to me, also beginning to eat. We're both a bit over halfway done the meal when he initiates a conversation.

"So, where are you from?"

"Suffolk County, Long Island. Basically all my family is from there," I explain.

"I have a few relatives who live there," he says.

"What about you? Where did you grow up?"

"Cape May, New Jersey," he tells me and my eyes widen a little.

"Ugh, you're so lucky. I always wanted to go there as a kid but never got the chance,"

"Why not?" he questions.

"Too expensive," I say shortly. Despite what I may tell myself, I'm ashamed of my past; of my poverty, my loss, my mother. I don't exactly like to publicize the fact that I grew up with basically no money, no food or no anything for that matter as a child. It wasn't until I was 16 that my uncle Haymitch sobered up enough to help us out financially. For as long as I can remember he was always very wealthy, although I don't know how he managed to attain such money; he never openly spoke about him or his past for that matter.

"Ah, I see," Peeta nods but doesn't press for more information.

"Yeah... I hear it's gorgeous in the summer though," I say wistfully.

"It really is,"

"Did you grow up there, or were you just born there?" I ask him, continuing the conversation.

"Yep, born and raised. I moved away for university here though. Same with you?" I nod. "Why have I not seen you around before?" he asks me, finally seeming to say the thing on his mind.

"I tend to keep to myself frequently. Plus, you're probably too busy partying or flirting with girls," I say. I spare a glance at him but he's already looking back at me. "What?" I ask defensively.

"What makes you think that I party a lot. Or that I flirt with girls?" Peeta asks. It feels like his eyes are looking right through me and for some reason, I feel exposed. His gaze is intense but I respond anyway.

"Well, last night when you left me and didn't come back, you walked through the crowd and didn't even touch anyone. You seemed very at ease so I just assumed," I try to say assertively, but in reality, I feel small. I don't know why I'm letting him get into my head like this. I end up getting more frustrated at my weakness when I'm around him. "Why didn't you come back anyway? You asked me to stay, implying that you were gonna be back, but you ditched. What the hell was that about?" I can see he's starting to get annoyed with me.

"For your information, Katniss, I came back, but by the time I did, you were gone, so technically, _you _were the one who 'ditched'," he says irritatedly.

"Well if you didn't take 10 minutes I probably would've been there!" my voice rising.

"I'm not fighting with you about this," he says to me as he gets up and puts away his plate in the dishwasher. He starts to walk down the hallway when I speak up again.

"We aren't fighting. How can you have a fight with someone you don't even know?" I snap back. The sound of his footsteps cease, and he reappears.

"Fine. Then let's get to know each other," he says, leaning casually against the corner.

"Fine," I mimic his tone. He walks over to the living room and sits down on the couch. I follow behind him and sit on a chair so we don't have to share the couch.

"So where do you want to start, Peeta Mellark?"

"Well, what are your parent's names?" he begins. My expression hardens when he asks the question.

"Uh, parent, actually..." I say trailing off. His previously annoyed expression is replaced with a soft one.

"I'm sorry," he says, his voice surprisingly soft and sympathetic. I'm taken aback by this sudden change of tone.

"It's- it's okay, it wasn't your fault," I tell him. "Her name is Kate; Kate Everdeen. What about your parents?"

"John and Sarah Mellark." He says, taking on an icy tone as he utters his mother's name.

"I get the feeling you and your mom aren't close?" I ask cautiously. His expression hardens as mine did. Why is this boy so hard to read?

"Oh we're close all right, but probably not in the right ways," he says in a tone that indicates that the conversation about that is over.

"Any siblings?" I continue.

"Yeah," he says laughing a little. There it is again; his expression and mood seems to be able to change within seconds. "two actually; Rye and Jack. Jack is the oldest and Rye is the youngest. What about you?"

"Just a younger sister. Her name's Prim," I say and his azure blue eyes look thoughtful.

"Prim... that name sounds very familiar," he says and I raise my eyebrows. "Does she go to Panem High?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I think I've heard my brother mention that name before... multiple times actually. He has quite a thing for her as far as I'm aware," he says laughing.

"Well, I'll have to let Prim know because she was just gushing to me over the phone about him," I smile.

For the rest of the night, we talk about where we're from and where we grew up, our siblings, and what we're taking at PU. I find out he's doing arts, which surprises me. He shows me where everything is in the kitchen so I can finally maneuver my way around without help, then bids me goodnight at 1 in the morning. As I'm walking to my room, I smile stupidly when I glance at his door, but it quickly vanishes when I remember what Johanna said; "_Peeta Mellark is like the biggest player to ever walk the face of the earth. I'm sure he's slept with almost every girl at PU," _The thought of this makes me concerned at how good of an actor Peeta is if he can be so genuine with someone he barely knows. As I'm crawling under my sheets, I take a mental note to not let myself get involved with him; maybe platonically, but not romantically. Never.

xXx

Over the next two weeks, I see very little of Peeta. He's rarely at the apartment and when he is, he's holed up in his room. It's not that we're avoiding each other, but on the other hand, I'm not exactly making an effort to see him either. Even though he hasn't brought any girls home yet (to my knowledge), I still find myself straining my ears to hear if there's a female voice in his room. It wasn't until a Friday night at 12 am on October 25th that I heard the door to the apartment open while I was studying for my ecology test. I cock my head to hear someone speaking.

"Ooo, this is such a nice apartment," says a female voice. I turn my head back to my papers to- Wait. female? Oh, my gods. This is what Johanna was talking about; this is the part where I try to sleep but I can't because all I can hear is their lovemaking.

"Thanks," a guy says; said guy being Peeta. I can hear shuffling of shoes, then silence. Unfortunately, this silence only lasts for a few seconds before I can hear the two kissing loudly. I cringe in disgust and go over to my nightstand to fish my earbuds out of my drawer. I plug them into my phone and turn my music on, cranking the volume when I hear her moan loudly. After 10 minutes of a weird feeling brewing in my stomach, I can't help myself but strain my ears to listen after taking out my earbuds. I hear Peeta's door close after the girl giggles. I force myself to not vomit in my mouth at the sound. Why am I acting like this? _You can't control what he does, you barely even know him! _I think to myself. Despite being fully aware of this, I find myself feeling jealous, knowing she's removing his clothes as we speak. Within a split second I'm tearing off my own clothes, not being able to sit here and listen anymore. I walk over to my dresser in the closet and pull out my running shoes, a pair of dark blue leggings and my black Panem University hoodie. After slipping the clothes onto my body and tying my Nike shoes, I walk as quietly as I can out of my room, through the hallway kitchen and out the front door. Even though it's 12 at night, I don't plan on coming back for a long time. I start out on my run, setting a steady pace that I can maintain. I left my phone and earbuds in my room, so I let the noises of New York City fill my ears.

xXx

After an hour of running, my lungs burn and my calves and feet ache. I ran the path I normally take in Central Park and ended a block or two from the apartment building. I sprint the rest of the way despite my lungs screaming for air. I slow just as I open the door, and almost run straight into a curly blonde-haired and blue-eyed girl. Her hair looks dishevelled and her face is flushed. She smells like- oh. _Oh._ I realize this is the girl that was in my apartment only a few minutes ago most likely. She goes to open her mouth so say something, but I brush past her, my anger which had diminished over the hour of running resurfacing.

Instead of taking the elevator, I run up 8 flights of stairs, breathing heavily as I open the door to the apartment. Drenched in sweat, I take off my hoodie and walk down the hall towards the bathroom when I see Peeta exiting his room, also covered in a sheen of sweat, but for different reasons than I.

"You had a workout too I see?" I point out, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

"Where were you? I started to get worried when I saw you weren't in your room or the apartment," he says, his voice full of concern. Surely it can't be real. I begin to soften my tone but think better of it, remembering the promise I made to myself. His eyes drift down from my face to my torso, and I hope that he can't see my face redden as I try to cover myself with my arms. I almost lose my nerve, but press on before I can.

"As if you actually care, you were probably too busy getting head to think about me," I say icily. He looks taken aback for half a second as if no one has ever commented on his suggestive habits, but his expression leaves just as fast as it came. He raises his hand and I flinch, but he only puts it against my door frame, as if he's trying to keep me out if I make a run for it.

"What does it matter to you?" his reply just as icy as mine.

"It- it doesn't," I retort. _But is that really true? _I think to myself. Yes, yes it is, and I refuse to feel any differently. I feel the heat rising in my face.

"You hesitated,"

"Shut up Peeta," I snarl. I begin to walk past him but I know I'll never be able to get into my room with him in the way. I face the other way and pace a few steps away from him, trying to control my rising anger but think the better of it. He deserves this and he knows it. I turn on him and begin my rant.

"Let's get one thing clear okay? You may be a sex addict and a player, but once I paid that 300, _your_ apartment became _our_ apartment, whether you like it or not. Now you can bring girls home at 2 in the morning and ride them till they're screaming your name, but do _not_ pretend you care about me after I listened to that stupid, giggly blonde moan your name only an hour ago. Do you understand me?" I shout at him. He simply stands there, unblinking without showing emotion.

"You know what I think Katniss?" his eyebrows furrowing and gaze narrowing.

"What, Peeta, what is it you think?" I spit.

"I think that you've been hurt before," he says without emotion. I open my mouth to interject. "don't interrupt me. I think that you've been hurt before; that you haven't gotten close to anyone in months, maybe years, because you know why? You're scared. Scared of getting hurt, either emotionally, mentally, but by the looks of it, physically," he states. As he says physically, my muscles tenses. Did he see the marks when I turned my back on him? My throat starts to tighten.

"See? There it is again. Every time I raise my hand too fast or move too close to you, you flinch or you tense up as if I'm going to hit you. That, is a sign that someone has been physically or sexually abused, so which one is it Everdeen?" he asks. I stand there, shocked that he would even ask me this. I hate how easily he can read me, even when I think I have made appearance emotionless. But the fact that he seems so attuned to this can only mean one thing;

"I could ask you the same thing, Mellark," I shoot back, determined to not let my guard down. I remember his tone when he mentioned his mother, saying how they were close, but not in the right way, so I use this as leverage to hide from my own darkness. He can't know. Why should he? I hardly believe I could trust him, or that I want to.

"Neither," he says indifferently. He seems so poised, so cool, so collected. How does he do it? And what is it that could break that mask? I know there's more to this boy than he shows. I gather up all the nerve I have and walk towards him, stopping when my skin brushes against his shirt. This seems to make him breathe a bit faster.

"We both have our secrets Peeta, so why expect me to tell you anything if you won't do the same?" I say in low voice.

"I think you need a drink Katniss Everdeen,"

"No, I think I need you to get the hell out of my way," I growl, but before I can push past him to open my door, he grabs my wrist.

"Why do you not trust me?" he asks with a little hurt in his tone.

"Peeta! I barely know you! And- and on top of that, from what I've been told, you've slept with basically every single girl who goes to PU, and probably more! Why would I trust you, or even think for a second that you would treat me any differently than one of them?"

"You've thought about that?" he asks clearly surprised.

"Stop. I can't do this,"

"Do what? Catch feelings for a guy who frequently hooks up with girls? Why does that bother you so much? I'm sure Gale's done it multiple times himself, but you never seemed to be wavered by it," he points out. The painful thing about it is that I'm sure he's not wrong about Gale. Even though Peeta and I have never encountered each other prior to this, to my knowledge, Gale and he have been friends for two years. And he's right, I shouldn't have a problem with it. If I claim to not care and act like I'm indifferent to him, why would I make a big deal out of this?

"Bold of you to assume I'm catching feelings," I laugh humourlessly.

"I suppose so... You seem to be the only girl who can resist me," he says, the corners of his mouth twitching up. My face flushes as he comes closer to me, his body barely an inch away from mine. The angry fire that was previously burning in me dies out. In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten that I had removed my hoodie. Thanks to my many years of track, my waist is small while my stomach is flat and lightly toned, but despite this, I attempt to cover my torso with my arms. His body being so close to mine makes me nervous, but then his smell reaches me and I wrinkle my nose.

"You smell like sex," I say in half disgust, half embarrassment. He offers a flirtatious grin but my expression manages to stay intact. "It's not attractive, go take a shower," I tell him. I gesture to the bathroom and enter my room after he shuts the door. I remove the remaining garments from my body and decide to sleep without clothes. As I'm drifting off to sleep, I hear Peeta turning off the water and tell myself I'll take a shower tomorrow morning when I wake up to go for my run.

xXx

If there are two things I hate more than waking up, it would be sunlight streaming right into your eyes in the morning and people waking me up from my sleep without my permission. Naturally, these very two things happen, both at the same time. I wake up on my stomach after having a rather peaceful sleep. I go to turn my head towards the window but I'm rudely greeted with strips of the morning sun assaulting my eyes. I shove my face back into my pillow and let the cool air sweep over my bare, exposed back, thankful that the rest of me is covered, or I would be freezing. I begin to nod off and sleep tries to grab me from consciousness just as my door opens.

"WOAH, oh, ok, I did _not_ expect to see that at 11 in the morning. I am so sorry-" Peeta says, turning his head so he's not looking at my bareback. I groan in exasperation and grab the sheets, pulling them up around my shoulders as I prop myself up on my elbows.

"Peeta. You just screwed a girl last night and undressed her in the process. I'm sure this won't kill you. But thank you for your consideration," I say. "But next time, knock. Is it really that hard?"

"Well, I didn't exactly come in here expecting you to be naked either," Peeta says defensively. I obviously can't get out of bed since I'm not wearing anything so I shoo him out. From the other side of the door, he informs me of plans that have been made.

"So today is Saturday obviously, and we've been invited over by Gale to watch some 'scary' movies with him, Madge and a few of his roommates. We're going over once we have breakfast at the diner so pick something to wear other than sweatpants and a hoodie. Something comfortable but... cute," he decides.

"Hey!" I say defensively.

"I'm serious! I've never once seen you not wear that exact outfit with the exception that party and last night..." he says trailing off.

"You better not be smiling Mellark," I scold him.

"Promise I'm not!" he says in a mock-serious voice and I automatically know he is. So much for that run.

"Ugh. Whatever. I'll be out in 30 minutes. And we do NOT speak about last night," I say, rolling to the edge of the mattress and standing up. I put on a bathrobe and walk out of my room and into the bathroom. I let the soft robe slip down my body and kick it into a corner of the tiled bathroom. I grab my dark green towel from behind the door and set it outside of the shower. Turning on the hot water, I take my hair out of my braid and brush it before I step into the nearly scalding water. I sigh pleasantly as the water trickles down my body. I massage my vanilla-scented shampoo and conditioner into my hair separately. I scrub myself with a body wash that matches my hair products and shave, stepping out of the shower feeling much better than last night. I brush the tangles out of my hair and blow-dry it, leaving my soft and silky wavy, dark locks cascading down my back. I brush my teeth and return to my room, the carpet offering warm and soft comfort to my feet as I walk over to my dresser. I pick out a dark blue pair of high rise mom jeans with a black leather belt and choose a simple white t-shirt that I tuck into my jeans. I brush my hair once and decide to leave it out of the uniform braid I normally keep it in. Slipping on a pair of socks, I walk out into the hallway to find Peeta sipping on a cup of coffee, staring off into space until I walk into view. His eyes widen once he sees me and my cheeks get hot.

"Stop," I say quietly.

"Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like that,"

"I'm sorry love," he says charmingly, returning back to his normal self, "but it's hard not to stare when someone normally dressed in sweats and a hoodie appears in front of you looking like someone out of a magazine," he says grinning.

"I'm wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt, calm down drama queen. And don't call me love," I laugh breathlessly, taking a seat on the stool next to him.

"I wasn't talking about your clothes," he says under his breath almost inaudibly, but I hear him. My stomach erupts in butterflies but I scold myself. He leans in closer to me and tugs on a lock of hair falling in front of my face. "You smell amazing,"

"Thank you. That is an acceptable compliment," I inform him. "So, are you ready to go?" I check the clock in the kitchen and see I took an hour instead of the 30 minutes I told him.

"I'm ready when you are," he tells me. I walk back to my room and grab my vans high tops and a dark grey hoodie. Peeta is already standing by the door wearing his light grey football championships hoodie with his last name on the sleeve of it, a pair of black jeans slim and air force ones. _Typical white boys_, I think to myself. He obviously sees my expression and furrows his brows.

"What, you don't like it?" he asks. In full honesty, he has a half-decent taste in clothing compared to most males, so I shake my head and laugh.

"No, you look good,"

"Good to know," he smirks and winks.

"Peeta,"

"Fine, okay, I'll stop," he says like a whiny child. We walk down to the parking lot and get into his car, which is a black GMC pickup. After a few moments of quiet, I break the silence.

"What's her name," I ask quietly.

"What?"

"What was her name? The girl from last night," I say louder and look at him, although his expression is neutral.

"Glimmer," he says.

"Glimmer? Like one of the cheerleaders at PU? The one that constantly flirts with every breathing male?" I ask.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Oh. She's really hot," I say awkwardly, trying to leech something out of him. He laughs a little as we turn onto the road that the diner is on.

"Not really... she was just a bit of a distraction," he admits. As he says this, I get a bit mad at him for using girls, but more my voice to stay level.

"So you just have a go with girls once then move on to the next?" I ask and he nods slowly. "Just because you need a distraction?" I add and he nods at this too. "A distraction from what?"

"I'll tell you someday maybe...not right now though," I can respect what he says, relating to not wanting to tell someone something right away, so I drop it.

xXx

"Katniss!" Madge calls from across the diner. I'm about to return her wide smile but hers falters when she sees Peeta Mellark walk in behind me. I walk over to her as she gawks with her mouth hanging open. I take a seat next to her as Peeta sits down next to Gale.

"Hi," I say casually. Madge looks at me indignantly.

"Hi? You walk in here with the biggest player at PU and all you have to say is hi?" she spits.

"Mmm, yeah," I decided after a moment's pause.

"I- you- what?" she splutters but recovers quickly. "So, how's your new roommate?" she asks casually as if she didn't just freak out at me. I laugh, knowing exactly how she'll react to my response.

"Madge. My roommate _is _Peeta," Once again her jaw drops.

"You- you can't be serious," she hisses. I nod and she stares at me in shock. "I can't believe I did that. _I_ did that. Oh, my gods. I've sentenced you to death haven't I?" she breathes. "I mean, I knew that you would be rooming with a guy when I handed you that slip, but I didn't know it was gonna be him!"

"Madge," I laugh at her. "he's not completely awful you know. Yes, he can be flirtatious and yes, he may have brought a girl home to get busy with already, but I have promised myself that the only thing I will ever feel towards him is platonic. We're friends Madge, calm down," I reassure her. She exhales slowly, then gives me that mischievously grin again, the same one that she gave me the day she handed me Peeta's email.

"What?" I ask her, intrigued by her sudden change of emotion. She giggles. "Madge. You almost never giggle. What is it?" In response, she intertwines her hand with Gale's who's sitting next to her and he gently kisses the top of her head as if it's the most normal thing in the world, then returns to his conversation with Peeta. My jaw drops at the sight, but a smile creeps onto my face.

"MADGE! Why didn't you tell me earlier! This is so great!" I say laughing.

"We didn't make it official till this morning," she explains smiling. Suddenly Peeta clears his throat.

"Once you two girls are finished gushing over there, we have a movie marathon to start, so can we hurry it up a little?" he asks, gesturing to our food. Madge and I were too caught up in ourselves to even notice that our food was served to us, so we get it packed into a styrofoam box and take it with us back to Gales.

Peeta and I silently get into his truck and drive behind Gale and Madge without uttering a word.

"I assume you heard about Madge and Gale," Peeta says, clearly trying to break the tension between us.

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it? I'm really happy for them," I say, genuinely elated. It's about time they both had something to be happy about.

"Mhm,"

"Peeta..." I say after a few moments.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?" I ask tentatively. He nods in response.

"How many relationships have you been in?" He simply laughs. "What? What's so funny?"

"None," he responds, completely serious now.

"What? You mean to say you, Peeta Mellark, the quarterback of the Panem Panthers varsity football team has never been in a relationship?" I ask, positively shocked.

"That would be correct, yes," he tells me. "I'm more of a one night stand kinda guy" he explains shortly.

"Oh..." I say quietly.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just out of curiosity I suppose," I reply, honestly unsure of why I did in the first place. As I finish my thought, Peeta takes a right turn and pulls into the driveway of Gale's house that he shares with 3 other guys from PU that I've never met. Before I can even unbuckle my seatbelt, Peeta is out of the car and opening the door for me.

"Peeta," I say exasperatedly.

"Katniss," he mimics my tone.

"Stop!" I say, playfully slapping his arm. I get out of the car and walk up to the front door with Peeta by my side. I don't bother knocking since I already know Gale and Madge are in there. We both walk in to find them in the kitchen getting snacks and food ready to take downstairs to the basement.

"Hey you two," Gale says, trying to suppress a grin. I scowl at him and he holds up his hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything!"

"Okay. That's it. Let's establish some boundaries; Peeta and I are _friends. _F-r-i-e-n-d-s. Our friendship is completely platonic, obviously, and we share no feelings for each other. Right Peeta?" I look to Peeta for affirmation but he's just staring down looking at me. I nudge him with my elbow and he seems to come back to reality, returning to his normal flirtatious self within seconds.

"Aww, come on Katniss, you know you want me," he says winking and slips an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"Peeta!" I say once again scolding him, but he only laughs along with Madge and Gale. My cheeks start to burn at the feel of his hand on my waist, not pressing too hard but not too loose. It's like his fingertips are sending electricity through me when he touches me. I move and his hand slips away, but I still feel the ghost of his palm on my soft flesh. I round on him and hit his arm, and he clutches his bicep in mock pain. I roll my eyes but end up laughing.

We finally take off our shoes and hoodies and enter the kitchen, helping Gale and Madge grab everything to take downstairs. I wonder why there's so much food, knowing that between the 4 of us we won't eat it all.

"Gale, why do we have so much stuff? It's just us four,"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I asked if the rest of the guys wanted to join. Both Thresh and Finnick invited their girlfriends, Leevy and Annie," Gale explains. I recall Gale telling me Thresh and Leevy starting to date a while ago; back home in Long Island, Leevy was my neighbour for as long as I can remember, although we weren't super close.

"That, of course, only leaves Darius," Gale continues, but all other noises cease when we reach the bottom of the stairs and I see none other than my high school ex, Darius Brown, standing right in front of me. I freeze and Peeta's chest hits my back due to my sudden stop. We stare at each other for a few seconds before he speaks.

"Hello, Katniss. Long-time no see," Darius says, and faster than you can say cheater, all the memories start coming back.

**Afjghlsfuklhslkdjgsjdkh GUYS! Thank you so much for all the favourites and follows once again. I'm sorry this chapter took a bit longer than the rest, but I put a lot more work into this more than the other two, to be honest, so I'm planning on going back and updating chapters 12. I'll be adding more detail and maybe a few other things, so make sure to go back and read those chapters within the next month (*HOPEFULLY* idk yet)**

***PLEASE READ FOR FURTHER CONTEXT ABOUT DARIUS***

**okay so some of you guys may be confused about the whole thing with Darius which makes sense, so I'll briefly explain; it will be revealed in the next chapter that Katniss dated Darius from sophomore year to senior year in high school, but he came before Cato came along too. This will all be explained in the next chapter so stay tuned!**

**gently reminder: I have exams in 3 days, so writing will have to be cut back & chapter four probably won't be up for a while. Thanks for your patience!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**ahahahahah wow okay I owe a huge apology to you all. You guys have shown so much support and I'm so grateful for it. I would like to explain myself for not posting a new chapter in like literally forever *nervous laughing* ; so I started watching this show on Disney called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and um in short, I was and still am obsessed with the cast and the show and the main character, Ricky, who is played by Joshua Bassett. So anyway, I got very distracted with that, and then I went to go and watch Little Women (the new one that was made last year) and then I accidentally fell in love with Timothée Chalamet (who plays Laurie) and then I binged basically every movie he was ever in. SO. I am SO sorry guys. Like SO sorry. BUT this chapter is pretty spicy (at least I think so) so I hope you guys enjoy! I have a really easy semester so I should be writing more frequently, meaning more chapters so yeahh! Thank you guys for all your patience. **_

_"GO!" Coach Boggs yells at us. "RUN, RUN, RUN!"_

_I push myself, breathing in and out through my mouth. Heavy rain droplets splash on my skin as I run through the downpour. I can barely see 5 feet in front of me. I'm scared that I'm going to slip and fall despite the rubber track I'm running on._

_'PUSH IT GIRLS, GIVE IT YOUR ALL," I can hear him screaming at us to finish the 100m sprint. I'm already a few feet in front of everyone else but Clove is gaining on me quickly. My calves burn and my arms pump quickly. I can practically hear my heartbeat in my ears. 'You got this, come on,' I tell myself. I'm so close, so, so close. I tilt my head back and put everything I have into it and cross the finish line a few seconds before anyone is even close. Running a few more feet to allow myself to slow down, I come to a stop, breathing heavily, and go over to the lady who was tracking my time. She shows me the stopwatch and I clock in at 10.98. She claps me on the shoulder and I try my very hardest to suppress my wide smile; that was the best time I've ever made throughout my high school track career and to be honest, I'm actually very proud of myself. The rest of the team who's sitting in the stands start clapping, whooping and yelling, shouting my name. I flash them a grin and walk back to where the 7 other girls are crowded around Coach Boggs._

_"Good work ladies, that was a good practice. Katniss, immaculate running sweetheart, absolutely fantastic. You all could take a few tips from her you know," he says. He sounds like my uncle when he says sweetheart. "Since it's raining cats and dogs, I think we'll call it a day. Be here by 7 tomorrow morning to load the bus," Boggs tells us sternly and we break apart, going to grab our bags from under the bleachers. "DO NOT BE LATE!" Coach calls one last time and we all laugh and say in unison, "WE KNOW!" _

_"Katniss! That was crazy!" Johanna Mason calls out to me, jumping from row to row down the stands. "You're gonna have to go celebrate with Darius later tonight," she says winking at me. Johanna is one of my best friends who also happens to be on the track and field team with me. She does standing long jump and shot put, two field events of which she still holds the record. _

_"Thanks," I say laughing, gathering my things. _

_"I gotta get going, but I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!" she says, raising her voice particularly at the end of her sentence, fully aware the I despise mornings. I groan and she laughs, getting in her car are driving away. Walking to the girl's locker room alone, I swing open the door and clamp a hand over my mouth. I'm greeted by my boyfriend, Darius Brown, kissing Clove Martin. He has her pinned up against a wall, roughly kissing her lips as he's groping her. _

_"Darius!" I shout furiously, ripping him off of Clove. "What the hell is this!" I spit, motioning to Clove. "Out. GET OUT!" I shout at her, and she bolts out the door._

_"Katniss I can explain-" Darius begins._

_"Oh, you can, can you? Go ahead then, wow me!" I say venomously. _

_"Katniss, it meant nothing, I swear," he promises me. _

_"Nothing? Nothing? That certainly didn't look like nothing," I scoff. "I can't do this with you right now," tears fill my eyes__ as I storm out, leaving Darius in the girl's locker room alone. I feel dramatic for acting like that, as if I'm in a movie, but at the moment I don't care. I hear his footsteps quickening and I feel his hand close around my wrist._

_"What do you want!" I scream, unable to control my emotions. _

_"You know what Katniss? Maybe I'm done with putting with your insecurities and coldness. You never let me in! You're closed off and secretive; I feel like I don't even know who you are after two years of dating! I'm finished with your bullshit," he vents. _

_"So that's what this is about? Why didn't you just say something earlier! Actually, no! I don't care," I continue. "I went through my hardest times alone so sorry if I act like I don't need anyone,"_

_"Not that excuse again," he says rolling his eyes._

_"Oh, YOU wanna talk about excuses? Fine. How many times were we supposed to go out on a date or you were supposed to come over, but you ditched, making up some lame reason? How many times did I let it slide? How many times did I push it to the side because I thought you were better than this? Than to cheat!" _

_"We're done Katniss," Darius says coldly. _

_"You can bet your ass we are," I laugh humourlessly. I tear my wrist out of his grip and walk cooly to the gates of the track and once I'm out of his sight, I sprint, the rain hitting my skin so hard it stings and the wind chilling me to the bone. You can't tell the difference between the rain and my tears, which I'm thankful for. By the time I reach the bus station, I'm completely drenched, my clothes sopping with water. After waiting for 5 minutes, the bus arrives and I climb on. Every seat is taken, with the exception of one. I sit down shivering, the anger and adrenaline ebbing away and an empty cold feeling replacing it. _

_"Are you okay?" a blonde muscular boy asks me. He's roughly the same age as me from what I can tell. _

_"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I tell him, wiping my nose with my soggy sleeve. He pauses a moment before introducing himself. _

_"I'm Cato Daniels... and you are?"_

xXx

I breathe through my nose and exhale slowly. "Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it?" I say icily. I glance over at Madge and see her completely frozen. From the look in her eyes, she recognizes him from high school. Knowing what to do, she clears her throat loudly and continues walking to the couch as if nothing happened. I feel Peeta's hand press into the small of my back, guiding me to the couch where everyone is gravitating to. My stomach does flips when his hand comes into contact with my back and I try to hide the blush in my cheeks. We sit down and Darius pulls his phone out, checking it.

"I actually gotta go, something just came up but I'll catch you guys later," he tells everyone and a murmur of a good bye's is uttered from everyone but me and Madge. We all stay silent until we hear the front door close. It seems as though everyone lets out a breath that they didn't know they were holding.

"So, what movie are we gonna start with?" Madge asks, continuing to diffuse the tension.

20 minutes into the movie, I excuse myself to use the bathroom, although I don't need to go. I take a left down a hallway and find the small powder room. As I pull the handle to close the door behind me, someone puts their hand on the door to stop it from closing.

"Peeta,"

"What was that all about earlier?" he asks me, his eyebrows knit together.

"That... that was my ex from high school," I tell him. He laughs.

"So? He shouldn't mean anything to you anymore,"

"Peeta. You know Clove, the long-distance runner on the track team? She's short with brown hair?"

"Yeah, but what does she have to do with this?" he asks, a puzzled look overtaking his face.

"He cheated on me in senior year for her, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the first time too," I say coldly. Peeta's face twists into an angered mask.

"If I ever see his face again, oh, the things I would do to him-" his fists clenching.

"Woah, woah, okay, calm down," I begin. "I promise you that I hate him more than you ever could," I reassure him.

"What a dick," he mutters. I pause for a second, carefully choosing my next words.

"You're very hard to read Peeta Mellark," I say, locking my grey eyes on his azure blue ones.

"What is that supposed to mean Katniss Everdeen?" he asks in a low voice and takes a step closer to me. I can feel my heart rate pick up.

"Well," I start, swallowing hard, "first you ask me to dance with you at a party, then you avoid me for two weeks, then hook up with a girl at our apartment, fully aware that I was in the next room, then you put on an act like you care about me, then on top of that, you flirted with me this morning, and now... well, now you're standing barely two inches away from me, angry at a guy who cheated on me, even though you barely know him," I ramble nervously, my eyes now glued to my shoes. Peeta's hand moves to my chin and tilts my head up so I'm staring at him directly in his eyes.

"Who says it was an act?" he says quietly. He tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear and leans his face closer to mine. My breaths are now coming in short and quick bursts. _Friends,_ I hear a voice say in the back of my head.

"I don't want to be one of your sluts Peeta," I tell him, grasping onto the only thing I can think of.

"Oh Katniss, you're already so much more than that and you don't even seem to know it," he breathes. His lips are now brushing against mine as he speaks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask almost inaudibly.

"Guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?" My thoughts are going wild at all of the possibilities of what that sentence could mean. Is he interested? Does he hate me? No, that's not it; if he hated me, his lips wouldn't be brushing against mine and his hands wouldn't be going down my arms. Suddenly I'm confused. Not that I wasn't confused before, but my confusion is simply growing. How can he make me feel like this within 2 minutes? Why does this feel so good, yet so wrong at the same time? I know where he's been and what he's done, but I can't help but be attracted to him. The friendzone line seems to be getting blurry and I only know one way to get it back into focus.

"Peeta," I whisper, moving back from him. "Friends,". His expression steels and once again, I'm left questioning where I stand with him. I can't bear to continue looking at him, so I move past him and walk back down the stairs. I sit myself back down on the couch. I take a glance around the room; Finnick and Annie are snuggled up together while Thresh has his arms circled around Leevy's waist and Madge has her head resting on Gale's shoulder as they hold hands. Within a minute, my phone buzzes in my back pocket.

**Madge: Where's Peeta?**

**Katniss: He came upstairs and asked me about Darius. We talked but it got a little messy, idk... he's so hard to decipher sometimes. Idk where he is rn tho. **

As I send off the text, Peeta walks down the stairs and plops down next to me as if we didn't just almost kiss less than 2 minutes ago.

**Madge: Ugh, Darius. I didn't even know he lived with Gale, I am so sorry :(**

**Katniss: It's okay, but yeah, I know, don't even get me started on him. **

**Madge: Also... be careful with Peeta. I know that Gale trusts him even though he's a bit of a rocky guy. I just don't want him breaking your heart**

**Katniss: Madge. I. don't. like. him.**

**Madge: Alright, alright! He's starting to grow on me tbh, so if anything ever does happen, I wouldn't be opposed to you two...**

**Katniss: MADGE!**

**Madge: lol fine**

I shoot Madge a dirty look and she grins.

After 4 comedy horrors and 3 murder mystery movies, it's 8 pm, but despite the early hour of the night, almost everyone is fast asleep with the exception of Gale, Peeta and I. Gale takes notice of this, turns off the TV and begins to gather our garbage. Leevy has her arms wrapped around Thresh and Finnick is spooning Annie, who ever so slightly stirs and Finnick gently kisses her neck. I find myself starring at them, a feeling of... not longing... okay, maybe longing, but more of a want. A want to feel affection, to feel love, security and safety. Involuntarily, I glance over at Peeta who is also starring at the sight. Does he want the same as me? Is he feeling the same way I am? Sometimes he can be deep as the ocean, or shallow as a pond; there never seems to be an in-between.

30 minutes after Gale gently roused Madge and we finished cleaning up the mess, heavy and fast footsteps are coming up the stairs. A panting Thresh hurls himself from the basement doorway and frantically looks out the window.

"Gale! Have they left yet?" he turns around and lets out a sigh of relief, seeing us staring at him wide-eyed. "Okay, good, I thought you left. I forgot to mention earlier, but my parents are out of town next weekend for a few days so I'm throwing a party at my place; it's a costume party obviously since it's the week of Halloween, but I wanted it to be more 'coupley' so it's like matching. Party starts at 9 on Friday at 99 Point Cresent, Whitestone. Don't be late," he says laughing, waggling a finger at Peeta.

We thank Gale and say our goodbye's, getting into Peeta's car to drive Madge home. I'm in the middle of processing what Thresh said when my mind focuses on one thing; couples. That means it's a couples party, and if Thresh is throwing this party, Darius is going to be there and I can't bear the thought of showing up there without a date. I wrack my brain, trying to think of anyone I could go with, but only one person's name comes to mind, and he's sitting right next to me, driving his black GMC with one hand on the bottom of the wheel, the other on the armrest; Peeta Mellark. I look at him out of my peripheral vision so he doesn't know I'm staring. Externally, I look quiet, calm and collected, but on the inside, I am having an internal war with myself.

Why is it that I constantly tell myself that we are simply just friends when in reality, we're more than that? Now, of course, maybe I tell myself this because I'm afraid that the feeling is not reciprocated, which is a totally rational take on it; Peeta is a player, a flirt, he sleeps around, and girls left right and centre basically throw themselves at him. Even though I don't know him as well as someone like Gale, I know enough that it's unlikely he would change for some random girl that moved into his apartment with him. This girl is moody, secretive, secluded, harsh, blunt and closed off. Even if I may not want to admit it, Darius is right; I am closed off, which makes it hard for someone to love me... hard to be loved. I push my feelings down in hopes that they'll disappear on their own, which most of the time does, in fact, work very well, but not this time. Peeta makes me feel something that not many people have made me feel... no actually, no one has made me feel what he has. Whenever he's around, I can't seem to focus, and even when he isn't near me, my thoughts tend to drift towards him. Little things that he does drives me wild, like today when his hand was on the small of my back, or last night when he was standing so close to me. I feel silly, like a school girl crushing on a boy in her class; unable to stop thinking about him, looking at him, all of the above, and I feel even sillier knowing that he won't like me back. I guess I've just admitted it to myself though, haven't I? I like him. I like Peeta Mellark. There's no point in denying it anymore; it was bound to happen at some point or another, so why continue lying to myself?

The car stops and we walk wordlessly to our apartment. Peeta pulls out the key and unlocks the door.

"Come to think of it, I haven't gotten you a key yet-" Peeta starts to say but I cut him off.

"Peeta I need you to be my date to Thresh's party next Friday," I blurt, not thinking before speaking. He turns around, his expression first what I can only describe as a mix of confusion and shock, then he starts laughing. "What?" I ask defensively.

"You can't be serious,"

"Yes, I am in fact being serious," I say furrowing my eyebrows.

"You, Katniss Everdeen, are a piece of work,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I fume, taking a step forward.

"It means that you are absolutely impossible! One minute you're flirting with me at a party, then you say you don't want to be 'one of my sluts', and then the next moment you're asking me to go to a party with you as your date!" he breathes in for a moment then exhales. He takes another step towards me, closing in the gap. "What is going on inside that head of yours?" he murmurs, tilting his head to the side as he gently tugs on a lock of my dark hair. I sigh, knowing I can't keep it to myself much longer, considering the fact that we literally live with each other.

"Fine, you want to know what's going on inside of my head?" I ask.

"Yeah, yeah I do," he skims my cheekbone with his thumb lightly, sending shivers down my spine. I can't do this. I can't.

"I-" I sigh again in defeat and rest my forehead against his chest. "I don't know anymore," I tell him, losing heart. He's clearly caught off guard at my gesture of vulnerability and his body tenses for a moment but slowly relaxes as he brings his hand up, stroking my hair. After a few seconds, he pulls me into a hug. I haven't let anyone hug me like this in so long that I forgot how good it feels, or maybe it's just Peeta. His strong arms are wrapped around me protectively and for the first time in a long time, I feel safe. I inhale and get a whiff of his cologne, which smells so, so good- cinnamon and some other lovely, manly smelling guy product. With my ear pressed against his chest, I can hear his heartbeat, which seems to quicken when I finally wrap my arms around his waist, making me smile to myself against his chest. I practically melt into him, not wanting to leave his embrace.

"Yes, I'll go with you to Thresh's party..." he whispers. After a second, he removes himself from me to look at my face. "Is this because Darius is going to be there?"

I turn a deep shade of red. "Maybe?" I say weakly, and he flashes me a devilish grin.

"Then let's make him pay,"

xXx

Monday morning comes too quickly. I found out that Peeta and I have ecology together, despite him studying for arts, but it was the science that he chose to take. We both have a test today so we spent most of Sunday revising together in the living room.

I blink multiple times, trying to clear the cloudiness from my vision, but it seems futile. I lazily make my way out of bed, still completely out of it. My hearing is slightly muffled and my eyes are bleary. I grab a pair of lulu lemon leggings, underwear, a bra and my navy blue track hoodie then head to the bathroom. My eyes are half shut as I turn the handle and open the door, but I'm not greeted by an empty room, but running water and a naked...

"OH my gods!" I shriek, whipping the door shut as fast as humanly possible. _Oh, my gods_... I think to myself, putting a hand on my forehead, _I just saw my roommate naked. _Oh, this is so weird. This is sooo weird. I have my back leaning against the bathroom door when suddenly it open and I fall backwards, right into Peeta's bare and slightly wet chest. He catches me before I can fall to the ground. Even after a few moments, I have my eyes squeezed shut. He laughs, a deep throaty laugh.

"Katniss... I have a towel on," he tells me, taking me gently by the elbows and turning me around to face him. I open my eyes and am faced with an unbelievably muscular Peeta Mellark. His shoulders are broad, unbelievably well-toned and defined. My eyes trace him and I guiltily let them fall further down. My cheeks burn with embarrassment as my thoughts and eyes run wild, visually tracing every curve and dip in his abs.

"Uhh, Katniss," Peeta basically chokes on his words when he sees me staring. Was that out of disgust, nervousness or lust? I suppose I'll never know.

"I am so sorry, I had no idea you were in there, I did NOT mean to... ugh, this is so awkward," I say after a few moments, knowing we're both thinking it. He chuckles and runs his hand through the golden curls that flop on his forehead, dripping with water. I notice that he tends to do this when he's either nervous, austounded, shocked, embarrassed or feeling awkward. It's most likely the last option. He pauses a few moments, probably trying to think of something witty to say.

"Well, it's only awkward if you make it awkward," he winks and without another word, he slides past me into his room. My eyes follow him the whole time and they land on his muscular back which has... scars? My eyes widen in recognition; those marks are thankfully unfamiliar to my body, but not completely foreign; belt marks. Normally, the swelling and redness would go away after a few days so I've been told, but the fact that he has scars from them worries me. I'm still standing there when he reappears a minute later.

"Do I really look that amazing?" he laughs, raising his eyebrows. I begin to stammer out a response but he holds his finger up. "If you don't get in that shower now, we're gonna be late,"

"Right,"

"Mhm,"

I walk into the bathroom and start to undress. I throw my pj shorts and t-shirt into the laundry basket when I hear a knock on the door. _Oh shit,_ I think to myself. _Immaculate timing Peeta, just as I finish undressed, of COURSE, you need something._

"Um, Katniss?" I open the door a crack and peek my head out. His eyes drift down a bit to see my exposed, bare shoulder but they dart up as quickly as they went down. "Sorry, but you dropped this," Peeta mutters as he holds up a black lacy pair of underwear. I clamp my hand over my mouth and snatch them out of his hand with my free one. I slam the door in his face and press my bare back to the door and look at myself in the mirror. My toned and slightly curvaceous figure stares back at me and my face is the same colour as a volanco.

"They're hot, don't worry!" Peeta yells from down the hall.

"Peeta!" I screech indignantly from inside the washroom but can't help slightly grin. I once again try to bury my satisfaction and busy myself with turning on the water and brushing out my hair. I step into the shower and make it out in record time. I throw on my leggings and don't bother with a shirt under my hoodie. Hastily brushing my teeth and braiding my hair down my back, I run down the hall and throw on my shoes, sprinting down to Peeta's car. I place my backpack containing notes, homework and my laptop at my feet and we drive to PU with slightly awkward silence.

"We really need to stop having these awkward encounters slash run in thingy's..." I utter.

"It's only awkward if you make it awkward," he repeats himself shrugging and puts his foot on the breaks as we come to stop at a red light. I shift my body so I'm facing him.

"What do you mean? I don't make them awkward!" I protest and he laughs loudly, also briefly shifting himself to look at me.

"Katniss. You're about as awkward as someone can possibly get, I'm pretty sure,"

"I am not!"

"You totally are,"

"Ugh. Okay, you know what? This Friday at the party, I will prove to you that I am not awkward, although I shouldn't even need to prove myself because I already know I am not, so really, there is no need to prove myself..." I explain but he cuts me off as he turns off the engine to the car in the parking lot.

"Okay, I get it, calm down," he chuckles. We get out of the car and he reminds me that we're meeting with Gale and Madge outside on campus at lunch. We make our way to ecology and sit through a lively class with Professor Chaff, a man who never really seems like he's all right in the head, but we all attribute that to alcohol because he seems to bathe in the stuff. Due to this, he never fails to deliver the most interesting of classes. On our first day of class with him, he told us that he came from a place with lots of agriculture, although he never elaborated on where this was.

After finishing ecology, I head English with Professor Coin and then finally lunch. I spot Madge walking down the hall and jog to catch up with her. She's wearing a black t-shirt with some French phrase in white lettering on it and a cute but slightly jean skirt with a pair of black and white converse. I have always admired her sense of fashion and even though we both have similar tastes, I'm just too lazy to go shopping for hours on end just for pieces of fabric kept together by string or whatever.

"Hey! Long time no see," I say casually, falling into step with her.

"Well hello to you too,"

"So... how has it been with Gale so far?" I ask curiously and she blushes.

"Great actually. He's like really sweet and he does all the cute coupley shit you know, the cheesy stuff I like. I didn't expect him to be that way but I welcome it with open arms,"

"That's good though. I'm glad you're both happy," I say, genuinely smiling. We walk through a set of doors and down the universities stairs to a big tree. There's a gentle fall breeze, but it's enough to make you chilly.

"Okay, well, what about you and Peeta? Gale's been telling me basically everything about their history and Peeta's background. He's really starting to grow on me actually," she shrugs. I cock an eyebrow.

"Okay, well, his habit of taking girls home then dumping them isn't so hot,"

"No kidding,"

"So what about you? How's it been going with you two?"

"Ah, yeah... I don't know to be honest, sometimes he's soft and gentle but then a second later he's back to this hard expressioned state," I explain.

"Yeah, well, makes sense considering everything he's been through. He's a lot stronger than most people give him credit for,"

"Madge?" I question, really confused at her statement.

"It's nothing, nevermind," she says waving her hand slightly. I begin to protest when Gale and Peeta approach our table from behind Madge. Gale leans down and kisses the crown of Madge's head and takes a seat next to her. Peeta flashes me a grin and I can't help but return a bashful smile. I see Madge's eyes on me from across the table. She raises her eyebrows in question as if to ask, _'what was that?' _as Peeta takes a seat next to me. I widen my eyes as to say, '_not now_,' and we begin a conversation.

Peeta tells us that football season is starting up again so the rest of us agree to go to his first game if we go to Gale's basketball game. We chat about our classes, friends, movies, and about almost everything there is to discuss until every topic is worn out. Throughout the duration of the conversation, I find out that Peeta has a way with words and seems to put everyone at ease with his smooth sentences and jokes. I find myself relaxed into him but I don't try to move.

"Okay, well, we have one more thing we have to talk about; the party this Friday," Gale says eyeing Peeta. I wonder what unspoken thing there is between them as he speaks.

"Yes, indeed we do," Peeta replies.

"Okay, what is it with you two?" Madge laughs looking between the two boys. Gale begins to respond but Peeta interjects.

"We need to decide on costumes," I look at Madge and we both burst out laughing.

"You're taking this very seriously I see," she says in a mock-serious tone. "Who are you going with Peeta?"

"Katniss," he says matter of factly, and both Gale and Madge's jaws drop. They both look at me in shock but I only shrug indifferently.

"Yeah, so? What's the big deal? We're only going as friends,"

"Mhm... friends," Madge muses and makes air quotes with her fingers as she says friends. I kick her under the table and she shuts up.

"What are you guys going as?" I ask in an attempt to divert the conversation.

"Well, we decided on Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. From High School Musical you know? Since Gale plays basketball, it just makes sense," she beams. I have to hand it to her; it's creative, which puts me in a panic about what Peeta and I are going to wear. I quickly wrack my brain for ideas before Madge can get the question out.

"What about you guys?"

"Uhh... Artemis and Orion!" I blurt. "Yeah. Yes. Artemis and Orion from Greek mythology," I repeat firmly. Peeta looks at me with an impressed expression on his face. '_Nice save'_ he mouths.

"Oooh, spicy, I like it," Gale adds, wiggling his eyebrows, "but didn't Artemis kill Orion...?"

"Yes, yes she did. And I will not hesitate to do the same to Peeta if he tries to pull anything," I say, glaring at Peeta and he laughs nervously.

"Good to know,"

xXx

My face is red as a tomato. I shake my hands and stand in front of my full-length mirror.

"I look dumb... I look dumb!" I whisper to myself. I groan as I examine myself. I'm wearing a white greek robe that stops mid-thigh and clings to my body. A cape-like skirt begins at my waist and flows behind me but doesn't completely cover my front. A gold band wrap around my waist, wrists and head; my hair is loosely hanging down my back in a french braid with small gold strands in them. The shoes that came with the costume are traditional knee-high leather shoes that you would see on a Greek goddess. The white robe-like dress is beautiful, to be honest, but a bit too exposing for my taste; the fabric is collected at the shoulders with another two gold rings and my back is left bare until my waist where the fabric begins again and the front of the dress dips low on my chest. A bow and a sheath of arrows are laying on my bed, waiting to complete the costume. I take one final look at myself and go into the bathroom to add a bit of makeup to my face. I put on some mascara and add a winged black eyeliner with dusty gold eyeshadow. I put on a hint of highlighter to make my face slightly glow and apply a nude lipstick and gloss to finish the look. Taking a deep breath, I brace myself to open the door and face Peeta.

I walk down the hallway and into the living room where Peeta is standing, facing the huge window overlooking the Hudson River that's reflecting the city streetlights. He turns around at the sound of my footsteps and his eyes widen and his jaw hangs slack.

"Woah," he breathes.

"Stoppp," I mutter embarrassedly.

"You look amazing, Lady Artemis," he says walking towards me. He grins down at me and I have to force myself to not smile. Peeta is wearing a brown leather skirt thing that makes me want to laugh, and a simple white sash across his chest and similar leather shoes as mine. Other than these articles of clothing, he's exposed.

"Me? You look... well... you're half-naked," I laugh nervously. He laughs along with me and slips an arm around my waist.

"Does my bareness make you nervous?" he asks, pulling my body into his. _Yes, yes it does, but I'm not going to admit that to you, _I think to myself. His hands burn imprints the small of my back and side. His fingertips send shivers down my spine. My mind starts to run wild and butterflies flood my stomach. Why does he make me feel this way without even trying? Oh my gods, get your shit together Katniss. I detangle myself from him and straighten my gold band on my head.

"You ready to go?" I ask.

"You betcha," he winks and takes my hand, leading me out the apartment door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: **Guys omfg. It's literally been like, what? 4 months since I've updated this story? First of all, I am so sorry. I literally had to go back and reread the chapters to remember what happened

but I just gotta say this- THIS STORY IS ASS LMFAO. it's literally awful, I honestly hate it. It's so boring, I have no idea why so many people have read it to this point. BUT I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOU ALL! so thanks for sticking with my chaotic ass. so on that note, I think I'm gonna discontinue this story. Thank you guys so much for all the support but I just don't have any ideas or motivation for this story and honestly it's just so bad lol. Hope you're all staying safe and healthy.

fand0m-phaser xoxo

BUT this is literally all I have for this chapter, and I feel like it'd be wrong to not give it to you guys, so here ya go-

"This is definitely the place,"

"Yeah, well, I think you'd have to be deaf _and _blind to not know that," Peeta says. We drive down a street packed with cars parked on the sides of the road. I open the car door and walk out into the night air. It's not too cool but not too warm out; you can feel the breeze from the water, which sends goosebumps up my arms. We walk on the road, looking for the house number.

"There," I say, pointing to a big house. A_ really_ big house. "I-"

"It's a mansion," Peeta says for me.

"Are Thresh's parents loaded or something?"

"Probably," he decided. "Come on."


End file.
